Tips on Facing Interviews

Once you have been invited to an interview you must get ready to create the image of someone they will surely want to hire above all other job applicants. Everybody has an opinion as to how you do that, but what do you actually do and what do you say? Self-introduction is your key to interview success because you are starting from a baseline position where they have no experience of who you are or what you are like. Yes, they should have read your resume and cover letter you sent in, but that only gave them enough for them to want to see you in person.

Now you are going to meet the hiring manager in person, you have a one-off make or break opportunity to get them to see you as the only person they want to employ. As you know, interviewers will often rely heavily on their first impressions, to the extent that the interview becomes merely a confirmation of that first impression, either good or bad. So if self-introduction is your key to interview success, the first and most important aim is to create a positive first impression. Everybody has an opinion as to how you do that: look ’em in the eye, give ’em a firm handshake, speak up and don’t mumble; know your stuff.

All good ideas, but what do you actually do and what do you say? Create A Favorable First Impression The way to create a favorable first impression is to be sure you appear confident and open. When you meet your interviewer for the first time, make eye-contact at the introduction and repeat the interviewer’s name as you shake hands and thank them for inviting you to the interview. As you get seated, smile to indicate you are ready to get down to business. What often follows is the invitation to ‘tell them about yourself’ which allows you to commence your self-introduction that is so important to your interview success.

This is the phase where you develop the rapport that will carry you through to the positive outcome at the end of the interview. Because self-introduction is your key to interview success, you must have previously prepared exactly what you are going to say. This is not some lengthy story about your life, but a short focused statement that sounds interesting to the listener. You make it interesting by keeping it short (less than 3 minutes) and by showing that you are interested in both the job and the organization. This means you need to do some research about the business beforehand. Strengths And Achievements

In your self-introduction you will include some examples of your strengths and achievements which relate directly to the requirements of the new job. This must also demonstrate your personal qualities that you apply when you are doing the job because the type of person you are is often far more important then just having the ability to do a job. The way you outline your self-introduction, in particular the way you speak, tells the interviewer whether you are confident in your abilities so you must rehearse it well, but don’t try to be what you are clearly not – you’ll only be found out at a later date.

Get a friend to listen to your self-introduction with a critical ear, because if it sounds false it will set the alarm bells ringing with the interviewer who will detect that it is not the real you and destroy the rapport you were building up. Practice speaking faster or more slowly, louder or quietly and try to vary it throughout. When you have prepared your self-introduction, ask yourself this question: ‘What does the interviewer need? ‘ The answer is that the interviewer needs to identify the best candidate to hire, whilst keeping the costs to a minimum and the fewer people interviewed the better.

The need is also for the person who appears to be the best ‘fit’ in terms of both personality and technical ability. Also remember that they may need to justify their decision to hire you, to someone higher! Prepared well, this self-introduction is your key to interview success because it helps to create that all-important first impression, helps you to build the rapport with the interviewer and satisfies the questions about whether you are the sort of person who will fit in to the organization successfully. Peter Fisher is Coach and Webmaster for http://www.

Your-Career-Change. com where you can download your free Special Career Change Report and 63 page PDF e-book “Big Book of Job Hunting Tips”. Article Source: http://EzineArticles. com/? expert=Peter_Fisher Question for HR What kinds of assignments might I expect the first six months on the job? How often are performance reviews given? Please describe the duties of the job for me. What products (or services) are in the development stage now? Do you have plans for expansion? What are your growth projections for next year? Have you cut your staff in the last three years?

Are salary adjustments geared to the cost of living or job performance? Does your company encourage further education? How do you feel about creativity and individuality? Do you offer flextime? What is the usual promotional time frame? Does your company offer either single or dual career-track programs? What do you like best about your job/company? Once the probation period is completed, how much authority will I have over decisions? Has there been much turnover in this job area? Do you fill positions from the outside or promote from within first?

Is your company environmentally conscious? In what ways? In what ways is a career with your company better than one with your competitors? Is this a new position or am I replacing someone? What is the largest single problem facing your staff (department) now? May I talk with the last person who held this position? What qualities are you looking for in the candidate who fills this position? What skills are especially important for someone in this position? What characteristics do the achievers in this company seem to share?

Who was the last person that filled this position, what made them successful at it, where are they today, and how may I contact them? Is there a lot of team/project work? Will I have the opportunity to work on special projects? Where does this position fit into the organizational structure? How much travel, if any, is involved in this position? What is the next course of action? When should I expect to hear from you or should I contact you? Personal intro Fresh out of college? Recently laid off? Re-entering the work force?

You can gain an advantage over those dozens of other qualified people interviewing for the same job by using these 7 Self Introduction Strategies for a Successful Interview. In any interview you want to present yourself as a skilled and knowledgeable professional who is a great team player and enthusiastic about the company and the position for which you are interviewing. These self introduction strategies will help present you in the best light so that you stand out from other interviewees and make the best possible impression during the interview. . Preparation – Preparation is key. This means to research the company; find out what they do and how they do it. Has there been some recent online article? Has there been a story about the company, its products or a member of management in a local magazine or newspaper? Perhaps there has been a feature story on the radio or TV? Digging these up and relating them casually during the course of your interview will make a good impression on the interviewer. Conduct research on the company’s products and services. What are they? How o they compare to those of the competition? Who is the competition? How does the company produce or distribute its products or services? What were last year’s (or last quarter’s) sales figures? Interject these facts into your interview and you will appear knowledgeable, professional and you will definitely stand out from any other interviewee. Research the position you are applying for. Details may not be possible to uncover, but you should understand the broad responsibilities as well as the specific skills and experience you are bringing to the table.

Mention these skills and experience and even if you are wrong about the details of the position, you will still appear as enthusiastic. 2. Rehearsal – Now that you have all the facts about the company, you need to memorize them all and present them in a way that doesn’t seem wooden or as if you’re reading from a teleprompter. This is where rehearsal comes in. You may try a full blown dress rehearsal wearing the same type of attire that you would wear for the interview. While some people swear this helps, others consider it overkill. Only you can tell.

Recite the facts about the company and present a few relevant details about yourself stressing how much of a team player you are or other bits of information you have gleaned from the job description. How do you fit in? Explain this. How is your experience helpful to the company? Tell them. How can you use your knowledge and skills to benefit your future employer? Let them know. Present these in short “sound bites”. Rehearse them until they feel and sound natural and not rehearsed. 3. Questions – You may have heard about how important relevant questions are and you would be right.

From your research you should have uncovered several areas you may feel uncertain about or a few things you would like clarification on. These are good things. Write these down. Memorize them if possible, but don’t be afraid to pull out a 3×5 card during the course of the interview if you need to remind yourself what your questions are. You can also buy a book at a copyshop or office supply store that features key questions to ask your interviewer. This is always good. 4. Formality – Now that you are at the interview you need to know what to do.

Obviously, you need to arrive on time and this means 10 to 20 minutes early. Not 5 minutes. Not 1 minute. Never late! Be early. This will give you time to mentally rehearse the interview in your mind, review your cheat sheet of questions, powder your nose and otherwise prepare yourself comfortably for the interview. Dress one level up from the position you are applying for. This is a subjective assessment and sometimes I have guessed wrong, but you can rarely go wrong from a neat appearance. If in doubt, dress up. Be professional, courteous and likable with everyone you meet.

You never know whom you are greeting or with whom you may be working when you are hired. And keep the cell phone off, the PSP at home, and the earbuds and headphones in the car – but, believe it or not – a Bluetooth is ok, if you do not talk on it. 5. Friendly – It is your time to shine! You want to be courteous and friendly to everyone you meet, especially during the interview. Appear likable, smile and lean forward, don’t fidget. A few tricks I learned from the NLP school follow, but don’t make them obvious. Try to mirror the position of the interviewer. Match their position with your own.

If they cross their legs, wait a minute or two then cross your legs. If they lean forward, count to 30, then lean forward. If they nod their head, nod your head. If you have your resume or notepad in front of you, turn it to mirror any material they may have. Do this with your peripheral vision. Never look directly at something then attempt to mirror it, you will get caught. When answering a question, repeat the question or a few key words of the question or rephrase it before presenting your answer. Be yourself. 6. Interesting – You must capture the interest of your interviewer.

You do this by applying the steps above plus you mention a few favorite anecdotes from your experience that demonstrate how you have successfully faced a challenge, resolved a problem, been a good team player, stayed late to complete a project or soothed a disgruntled co-worker or customer. Add a tidbit of your work experience that shows how you have added value to a previous employer. If you get a few of these together – how you have added value – you can use them for that all important question, “why should we consider you for this position? And this brings us to 7. 7. Unique – Being unique is the key to getting the job. If you stand out from all the other candidates, if you can appear friendly and interesting, if you are on time and dressed appropriately and if you can demonstrate just how much of a positive impact your skills and experience will bring to the company, you will get hired. By following these strategies of self introduction in interviews you will almost certainly be one of, if not the top choice for consideration.